Can't Stay Away
by UniqueInsanity
Summary: What if, even after Grissom sent the plant, Sara still left? Would she meet someone else? And what if a new serial killer drags her back to Vegas? R&R. -xx
1. Chapter 1

**Can't Stay Away.**

**A/N: **I know, I haven't updated anything in a loooong time. I'm doing exams in school, in 124 days to be exact. I'm the type to get really stressed, really easily, and study loads. I have been finding it hard to continue with my other fic's, so I decided to come up with a new one. Had a CSI marathon and viola, this is the resulting product.

So, just bare with me, I will update as often as possible.

I hope you all enjoy.

**Disclaimer: nothing is mine, they are merely my puppets, to play with, and have some fun :D**

-xx

_**xxx**_

She had to leave, get away. Being close to him was impossible. The conflicting emotions that raged through her body when he was near was enough to keep her awake at night, just trying to calm down.

He infuriated her; the way he expected her to be there at the click of a finger, how he seemed to take nothing she did as of any value. Yet, at the same time, all she wanted to do was be close to him, to try her hardest, make him happy.

She loved him, she felt as if she always had and it was infuriating, because he knew it, yet he pushed her away, and then pulled her back to him. She came to Vegas for him, maybe with a little more than just work in her mind, and so far, she was bitterly disappointed.

It was for her own health, her sanity, that she requested the leave of absence.

Six months away, a year maybe if things went well. She could try out some new skills, meet some new people, try and forget about everything; about him. It seemed impossible, but Sara Sidle was an extremely stubborn woman, and she would do nothing but try.

When she asked for the leave, the best he could come up with was "The lab needs you." She didn't care about the lab! It wasn't what she wanted to hear. They words she wanted, what her body seemed to yearn for, was to hear him say that he needed her.

It never came.

She got the plant, she appreciated it greatly, but it just wasn't enough. Maybe it was the sentiment that went with it, 'Grissom'. It just showed how their relationship, if you could call it, lacked so much communication. There was nothing else that he could say, when she was leaving.

She stayed up that night, staring at the white card in her hand, with his name elegantly slanting upon the card that had come with the plant that was now sitting on her kitchen table.

She had come to her decision: she was going to go.

She had been offered a position with the FBI in the Criminal Investigation Division, in Washington, approximately two thousand four hundred and twenty miles away from Las Vegas, away from Grissom.

She had turned it down to come to Las Vegas when Grissom first asked, but with a quick call, she had found out the position was still open for her. She was pleased that her years learning self defence had come in useful as somthing that made her stand out against others who had applied. Not to mention her academic qualifications meant she was more than qualified.

She came to work early the next day, nothing unusual for her. She spoke to Ecklie first, and then to the Team. They of course had been shocked to find out that she was leaving. Especially that she was leaving in two days.

There had been tears, and laughs, and promises to keep in touch, to come back soon.

Grissom was the last person she spoke to, before she left the lab for at least the next six months.

She explained that she had to leave, she needed a new work environment. She wasn't lying, she needed to work somewhere where he wasn't, somewhere where she could think clearly for just a minute. Maybe even figure out what she wanted to do about them, if you could refer to them as that.

He opened his mouth, and for just a moment, Sara had thought there was something he was going to say, something important. Her heart had sped up, her mouth went dry as she waited in anticipation. He seemed have second thoughts, and closed it again, only a second later wishing her the best of luck, and reassuring her that her job would always be waiting for her.

With that, and an awkward goodbye, she turned from him and left the lab, not allowing herself to look back over her shoulder.

_**xxx**_

**A/N:** Chapter one! How did ya'll enjoy it?

I dedicate this chapter to my lovely cat, Fluffy, who died this morning. RIP, Fluffy.

Send on some reviews, for Fluffy (:

-xx


	2. Chapter 2

**Can't Stay Away: Chapter 2.**

**A/N: **Second chapter, to keep ya'll happy. I have a few different scenes in my head as to how this will play out.

Hope you all enjoy!

-xx

_**xxx**_

**3 years later.**

"Isn't it your night off, Sidle?" A southern drawl teased from behind the Brunette.

With a grin on her lips, she let out a short laugh. "Isn't this your week off, Reilly?" She shot back, before turning in the leather chair to look at him.

Dressed simply in a pair of jeans, black shoes and a black shirt, with the chestnut ruffled hair and a crooked smile on his lips, Cam Reilly, Sara couldn't help but stand and give him a hug.

"Touché, but once I heard the case you were working on, I gave Rian a call and cleared that I could take my holidays some other time." Cam said as he released Sara from his tight hold.

Cam had been working in the division for two years when Sara first joined. He remineded her of a mix of Nick and Greg, the gentleman with a goofy side. A mix she found, after a couple of months, was quite beyond her power of resistance.

Cam had asked Sara out almost a year ago, after many months of flirtatious exchanges, and her answer was yes.

With her hands on her hips, she pursed her lips, turning back to look at the mountain of case files she had previously been pouring over.

"Did Rian fill you in, or would you like me to catch you up?"

"Rian said he would leave it to the expert on the case." Cam offered with a smile.

Sara rolled her eyes slightly, but smiled nonetheless. She sat back in the chair she had previously abandoned, and Cam dragged a chair across so he could sit on the opposite side of her desk.

"First victim," Sara began, getting straight into business, "Hadley Torres, twenty-four, hispanic, worked in the Human Resource sector for a Casting Directors office. She was single, lived in Santa Rosa California. Raped, beaten and murdered, her body was dumped on the highway twenty miles from her home six months ago. There was semen found, but no match to anyone in CODIS. Not a hair or fingerprint was found." She took a breath before continuing. "Autopsy concluded she was drugged with chloroform, and died from asphyxiation."

"Second victim," Sara opened the next case file, to show a younger, white girl, with dark brown hair. "Jane Williams, twenty-one, caucasion, found three months ago, again dumped on a highway just outside her hometown of Oakland, California. She was a student in Harvard studying law. Again, semen was found, a match to the first victim, but no hits. Cause of death was the same as the first victim also. Originally, police thought it was just in the state of California, but when the last victime was found, that was when we were alerted."

Sara closed the case file and opened the next. "Third and last victim, found two days ago. Isabella Carter, twenty-three, caucasion. She lived with her boyfirend, in Portland, Oregon. He was out of town on a business trip, alibi checks out. This time, neighbours heard a scream and called the police. They were too late, he was gone. But he didn't have enough time to clean up. We found a partial on the window he jumped out of, and also a piece of black cloth, caught in the window pane, it may be from a piece of clothing. Semen matched that of the first and second victims, and there was no hit from the print."

Cam had been listening intently to her, taking it all in, running the information around in his head. "Was there anythink linking the three of them?" Was his first question.

A small smile pulled on the corner of her lips. "Police checked, but they found nothing, I asked Callie to double check. The only thing they have in common, apart from the fact they are women in their twenties, murdered in the same way.." She took a pause, meeting his eyes, "They were all foster children at one stage in their life. Jane is the only one whose parents are still alive. It still brought us to a dead end."

Cam sat back in his chair, watchiing her carefully. He could see it in her, the burning determination. She didn't want to let this one go. She wanted to close this. "He seems meticulous," He knew talking it out sometimes helped, may give another lead, "Only semen is found, and he got disturbed with the last victim, he didn't have enough time to clean up."

"To me," Sara continued, "He seems to have Anger Excitation Behaviour. He gets off on causing them pain. abusing them."

"You need to sleep, Sara." A girls voice came from behind them, causing the both to turn and look at the new arrival.

"You should know I don't need to sleep, Callie." Sara retorted to the black haired slightly older woman.

"Well, I'm glad, and it's even better that you're here, Cam."

"Missed me that much, Cal?" He teased.

"Not half. we've got a new lead on that case.. Well, a new vic."

Sara stood, instantly, "Really?"

"Really." Callie nodded. "Time to back your bags, Sidle, we're going to the Crime Scene, and I'm sure you are more experienced in this area than we are."

Sara arched an eyebrow, pursing her lips. "Where are we going?" She asked, curiously.

"Las Vegas, baby."

_**xxx**_

**A/N:** Dun dun duuuun. What's gonna happen in Sin City? Will she meet with the team, or am i just teasing ya'll?

Only one way to find out... Review! :D

Make me happy.

-xx


	3. Chapter 3

**Can't Stay Away: Chapter 3**

**A/N:** This chapter took a lot out of me to write, because I was out last night with my school, and I was watching the Two Mrs Grissoms (again) at like, two o'clock this morning, (didn't Sara look fabulous? And the video chat with Griss! 3 awh (; ), then I had seven hours of school, and three hours at work, so there are my excuses if this seems lacking, but I did try :D

Hope you all enjoy.

I'm looking at this to be about, nine maybe ten chapters long 3

-xx

_**xxx**_

Seated on the plane, Sara hoped nobody minded that she didn't sit with them. Callie flicked through the case files, taking down notes as she went, just as work obsessed as Sara would be.

Cam couldn't take his eyes off of his girlfriend. She never spoke much about her time in Vegas. He knew about her relationship with Grissom, she had been very honest about that. Yes, in truth, he was feeling a little nervous that she was going to be seeing him again, but he wouldn't let it get to him.

Sara had said she wanted to get a few hours sleep before they landed, but even with her eyes closed, Cam knew she was not sleeping.

He sighed, and forced himself to look away. He had work to do.

_**xxx**_

**4 hours later.**

He had never become accustomed to the biting cold of the Nevada air at night. Even with the departmental issued Forensics jacket, a jumper and a shirt, it still seemed to penetrate through to his bones.

Out on the highway, there was no barriers to the wind, to protect him.

The sirens from when he arrived at the scene still rang in his ears, and he guessed they would for a while.

Grissom watched with pursed lips as Brass returned to his side. "When do they arrive?" The disdain was evident in his voice.

Brass gave a sigh, and shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine, but this MO was flagged as important, I had to call it into them as soon as, Gil. They didn't want anyone out here, and I assured them, you and your guys were the best. I know you don't like them, but they're good at what they do." He said, pushing his hands into his pockets, turning his back to his old friend, surveying the small group of people. Catherine, Greg, Coroner, first responding officer, the first person to find the victim, and himself and Grissom. "There's something about that guy," Brass nodded in the direction of the man leaning on the bonnet of the police car, waiting for Brass to take his statement. "We might want to keep an eye on him, I've just got that feeling."

Grissom arched an eyebrow, pursing his lips. "There is nothing to prove that, Jim. Yet."

"Yet." Brass repeated with a gruff laugh, before he began to walk away to take the man's statement.

Grissom slipped back under the crime-scene tape, watching as the body was finally loaded into the Coroners van. Now he could really begin, but he knew he was working to a deadline.

"Greg, you go with the body, collect the any trace and take it to the lab. Cath, you and I will work the scene. Once Nicky finishes up in court, he'll meet you there Greg." Grissom's voice rang out as he surveyed the scene.

He knew he only had a limited amount of time left here, he wanted to do as much as possible before the FBI got in. They weren't his favourite people to work with, not after his experience with Special Agent Culpepper. He didn't allow himself to think much about that time.

It wasn't any good.

He watched as David and Greg left, pursing his lips slightly.

Once he knew this was the work of a serial killer, he made it his business to look at the other case files.

The same cause of death, the same evidence left. All he could hope for, was now he was getting sloppy.

Now, he watched Catherine as she scoured the area, hunting for any trace evidence. He already knew there would be nothing there, he had succeeded in dumping the body, which meant that he had ensured there was no evidence left, only his semen, which Grissom was sure he would find.

He felt a rush of frustration run through him, but he also had a sense of relief. The killer had not been caught yet, but Grissom knew he had the best forensics team in the country, if any team could solve it, his could.

Catherine smiled to herself, looking over her shoulder to Grissom and beckoning him to come forward. He stepped out of his thoughts, and shuffled over to her, his eyebrows raised. She pointed to a few stray red drops on the ground, a little way away from the body.

"Pass me the luminol?" She asked, as Grissom leaned over the silver case he carried, taking the small bottle.

"It's away from the body, which means it may be from the suspect, or it may be completely irrelevant. It could simply be from an animal injuring itself." Grissom said as he watched Catherine wet the swab, and swabbed a spot of the red liquid. Grissom handed her the phenolphthalein.

Surely enough, the swab turned bright pink, causing Catherine's smile to grow slightly, and proving Grissom's earlier thought wrong.

"This could be good. Maybe he is getting more excited, so he is becomming less efficent. It is rare, but it happens. We'll get it to DNA, see if it matches the semen found in each victim." Catherine mused, standing up and placing the swab back in it's package.

"Looks like we've got some company." She said, watching as the black SUV rolled up, coming to a stop just outside the police barrier.

Grissom striaghtened from the ground, a sigh escaping his lips. "They're early." He said as he walked over to Catherine, watching as a black haired woman, was the first to leave the jeep, followed by a chestnut coloured haired man. The man glanced over his shoulder, before the third arrival appeared, and Grissom felt his mouth go dry.

Sara? He knew she had joined the FBI, but he didn't know what divison, and he definately didn't expect to see her here tonight.

He hadn't allowed himself to think about her. He had initially felt anger when she left, but he was not angry with her. He was angry with himself. It was because of him, the lab had lost a great CSI. He knew he had lost much more than that, he was faced with that realisation everyday, but he would never allow himself to wallow in the thoughts for long.

He threw himself into work, and it became increasingly easy to forget about her, to block her from his mind.

It never lasted for long.

But, here she was. After three years. Had it really been that long?

She looked good, the smile still on her lips, one he didn't see that often. It grew even more, and he heard her soft laugh as she threw her arms around Brass' neck, and he hugged her tightly. He knew Jim thought of Sara as a daughter, and he really had missed her. He wasn't the only one.

Catherine had of course, seen Sara, but her first thought was Grissom. She seen his reaction, and sighed. She had seen everything between her two friends, and she could still see it in Gil. She nudged him softly, her eyes flickering to Sara as a hint. "Say hello." She whispered as she passed him, to go over and give her greetings to the brunette.

"Sara! Why didn't you tell me you were coming?" She demanded, as she too engulfed her in a hug.

Sara laughed softly, shaking her head. "Why hello, Cath, nice to see you too."

Grissom took a deep breath, the phrase 'bite the bullet', ringing in his mind. He wandered over to the pair.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm delighted to see you, I'm just shocked. I knew you were working with the big guns now, but again, why didn't you tell me you were coming? I could have organised something, gotten the team together."

A smile tugged on the brunettes lips, one Grissom could not keep his eyes away from. "That is exactly why I didn't tell you, Cath." She beamed, feeling oddly at ease. For the moment.

"Welcome back, Sara." Grissom offered with a soft smile, his eyes meeting Sara's instantly.

Their parting had been awkward, that was undeniable. They had not spoken in three years, he was the only one Sara had lost contact with. He made no effort like the rest of them did, so why should it be always down to her? It shouldn't.

"Thanks, Grissom. Nice to see you again." She offered with an easy smile. She allowed her eyes to travel over him, also feeling that his eyes were doing the same. He looked good. Maybe her being away had done him some good too.

She looked away, noticing Catherine looking at Cam, and she smiled. "Sorry, introductions.." She trailed off. "Cath, Grissom, this is Callie and Cam. Cam, Callie, this is Cath and Grissom."

"Hello."

"Hey."

"What's up."

"Hi."

All greetings were said at the same time, earning a smile from everyone in the group.

Sara felt a little out of place, like she belonged on both sides. Maybe she didn't anymore.

"Cath and Grissom, as you know are CSI's." Sara continued, knowing that people liked to have an idea of who they were workiing with. "Callie is a special agent in the Criminal Investigation Unit with the FBI and is amazingly talented with a computer, Cam is also a special agent an-" She had continued, but was cut off.

"Her boyfriend."

_**xxx**_

**A/N: **uh-ohhhh! How will it go down? Does Brass have some psychic ability? Will Grissom find more than a serial killer?

All to come, stay tuned to UniqueInsanity, with more to come whenever she can, or, if her kind readers are amazing enough to review :D Hint, hint!

I'm curious too, as to what any of you who saw The Two Mrs Grissoms thought. Did it live up to your expectations?

Hope you all enjoyed!

-xx


	4. Chapter 4

**Can't Stay Away: Chapter 4.**

**A/N: **So after a night out, and a long day at work, and when you're suffering badly with a cold, what's the best medication? A hot water bottle, in bed, watching your favourite episodes of CSI, and updating fic's. Ya'll know it sounds good (:

I want to apologise for not replying to my wonderful reviews, I have just been so busy. Do know that I am extremely greatful for ALL of them, and I thank everyone who has revieded. Have a cookie!

Hope you all enjoy!

-xx

_**xxx**_

"Cath and Grissom, as you know are CSI's." Sara continued, knowing that people liked to have an idea of who they were workiing with. "Callie is a special agent in the Criminal Investigation Unit with the FBI and is amazingly talented with a computer, Cam is also a special agent an-" She had continued, but was cut off.

"Her boyfriend."

The silence in the air was almost enough to taste it.

Sara's now narrowed gaze flickered to Cam, her jaw tight.

Catherine's eyes flickered from Sara to Grissom, not knowing what to say. She knew she should smile, and tell Sara she was happy for her, but she knew how Grissom felt for her. He never admitted it, and she doubted he ever would, but she was a CSI for a reason. She pursed her lips, instead placing a light touch on the steaming brunettes arm.

Grissom's mouth was dry, a lump in his throat became almost impossible to swallow. So she had a boyfriend. That didn't suprise him. She was beautiful, intelligent, had a smile that could light up a room. He tore his eyes away from Sara, settliing them upon Cam. Once again, he was not suprised. He was a young, good looking guy, with a good job, with more to offer her than he ever could.

Callie knew it was a mistake, what Cam did. She knew Sara's blood was boiling. It wasn't his secret to tell, it was her's, to her friends. He had betrayed her. "Um, Catherine? Would you mind, if you took me back to your lab? I want to get going with this, and I could use your help." Callie said, trying to distract everyone.

Catherine took a breath, and nodded, a smile on her lips. How come she didn't think of that? "Of course, just give me two seconds."

"That sounds good." Sara said dryly, turning to Cam. "Can I have a second with you?"

He knew he was in for it. He hadn't meant to say it, it just.. Slipped out. He was intimidated by Grissom. He seen how he watched Sara, and he seen how Sara watched him. Or tried not to. He trusted Sara, but this Grissom guy, not so much. "Of course." It was as good as admitting defeat.

"Excuse me." Sara said with a forced smile, not meeting anyone's eyes as she walked back towards the jeep she had only left minutes ago, with Cam following at her heels.

Sara whirled on her heel to face her boyfriend, as he had so happily announced to everyone. With one foot forward, her arms folded across her chest, eyebrows arched and lips pursed, she was in the ultimate 'Sidle Stance'. "What the hell was that about?" She demanded.

"I'm sorry, Sara.. I didn't mean to.. It just.. Came out." He knew his apology was pathetic. He would be making up for this for a long time.

"I cannot believe you. You've been waiting for this ever since you heard we were going to Vegas. That's why you came back from holidays, isn't it? Rian told you we were going to Vegas, and you couldn't stand to let me go alone. You didn't trust me enough."

"That's not it at all, Sara. Okay, I admit, I knew that the case was taking you to Vegas. I didn't want you to go on your own. But it's not because I don't trust you."

"What is it then? What other conclusion can I draw?" She demanded an answer.

"I don't know, Sara. It just happened." He snapped back at her, annoyed that she was annoyed at him. It was a simple mistake.

"I'm not finished here." She said as she walked past him, back towards that talking Catherine and Callie just as they were about to climb into Catherine's Denali to go back to the lab. "Um, Callie, is there something that maybe Cam could.." She trailed off, hoping her friend would understand.

Callie nodded straight away, smiling knowingly. "Of course." She said as she looked over her shoulder. "Cam, you're with me." She called, to a now grumbling Cam, but he could not protest. Callie was his superior, and he had to obey. He suddenly hated the close friendship between his girlfriend and Callie. They always ganged up on him. Sara thanked Callie once again, and after promising Cath on more than one occasion that she would not leave without a goodbye this time, and that they would go out for a drink, Sara found herself walking back to the crimescene.

In her anger at Cam, that maybe was a little over the top, she feared tha being by him would just make her anger build. Now that he was gone, along with Callie and Cath, it left her and Grissom. Alone.

What had she done?

Grissom had tried his best to not listen into the couples heated conversation.

Well... That was what he would tell anyone who asked. Secretly, only would he admit it in the deepest pools of his mind, he had strained very hard to hear every word.

Cam obviously didn't know Sara very well if he thought that his words wouldn't make her angry. Grissom knew that. He would have never made such a silly mistake. A satisified smile had pulled on his lips, but it was immediately washed away with guilt. What was he doing? He should be happy for Sara. She had made a new life for herself, had an even better job than what she had before, and she was in a relationship. He should be happy for her. The pangs of jealousy made it hard, but he was going to try.

When he noticed her walking back towards him, he had ensured that he was busy. He crouched down by the area of ground he had been standing by, arching his eyebrows slightly. Footprints. Dried into the ground. It had rained hours earlier, that would suggest that they were from someone who had been here hours ago. Suspect, maybe?

"So, what have we got?" Sara's breath was hot on the nape of his neck as she had crouched over him, to look at what he was looking at, trying to get on with this.

Grissom had jumped slightly, having not heard her approaching, but he was all too aware of it now. He could feel her breath, smell her perfume. He was surrounded by everything Sara Sidle.

"Footprints. Set in mud. Could possibly be from the suspect." He said as he snapped a few pictures on the new lab cameras. He felt nervous, with her so close to him. "Cath found some blood drops, leading away fromt he vic. Again, they could be related. Nothing else was found. No prints, hairs, nothing. From reading the case files, I'm guessing if it's the same guy, there will be semen found..."

"You read the case files?" Sara asked, not knowing why she was suprised. Grissom was thorough.

"Well, once I heard that you were.. ah.. the FBI was coming, I decided I better accquaint myself with the other cases, know what to look out for." He explained as he stood, straightening up, turning to face her.

She was so beautiful. "It's good to see you again." the words were out of his mouth before he realised he had been thinking them. Maybe he understood a little more what had happened with Cam.

The easy smile slid back onto her face, and she felt herself relaxing. She was more relaxed with him now, she had expected this meeting to be awkward. To some extent, it was, but she was able to deal with that.

"It's good to see you too. I'm sorry... That I was out of touch." Should she be sorry for more?

"It takes two to communcate." He said, his eyes locked with hers. There was so much that he wanted to say to her, but at the moment, he couldn't make the words leave his lips. What could he say to her? Was there any point in it? She had moved on, professionally, romantically, emotionally. The thoughts brought a sigh from his lips.

"Hey, guys. I know you don't like it when others do your job for you, but sometimes, I just can't help how good I am at my own." Brass said smoothly as he wandered over towards the pair, noticing how they immediately took a stpe away from each other.

"What have you got?" Sara asked, her eyes bright, hoping it was a lead. A distraction.

"A suspect." He beamed, smirking.

_**xxx**_

**A/N:** Sorry it's short guys, not feeling the best I'm afriand. Hope it keeps ya'll going until my next update. Should be in a couple of days.

Reviews may be the best medication of all, if anyone wants to make me feel better :D What do you all think will happen?

-xx


	5. Chapter 5

**Can't Stay Away: Chapter 5**

**A/N:** Who would have known a cold can last almost a week? I'm proof it does. Been working hard on my updates for y'all, hope you're enjoying.

Oh, also, I'm working on a new fic, one I haven't posted yet, but I need a beta for it, and someone to just talk the idea out with. If anyone's interested, please, let me know, I'd appreciate it greatly (:

Hope you enjoy!

-xx

_**xxx**_

Cam didn't try to hide the fact he was annoyed. The entire drive back to Las Vegas Crime Lab he stayed quiet, contemplating his thoughts.

He knew that he was out of line, that he shouldn't have said that, but heck, it was a mistake. It just slipped out, he couldn't stop it. He apologised for it.

And what did it matter if they knew, anyway? Everyone knew back in their Office. He wondered for a moment why she hadn't told them. He knew she kept in touch with them, with everyone except Grissom. As far as he knew.

He wasn't happy with the fact that he was sitting back here, when he knew Sara was out with him. Alone. It wasn't a question of trust, he had already addressed that. He would just be more comfortable if he was with her.

"Callie, you know I'm no good here in the lab. I work better out in the field." It was worth a try, he guessed.

Callie glanced at him over her shoulder, shaking her head, a smile on her lips. "Sorry, Cam. You're with me until further notice."

Cam shook his head, pursing his lips and squaring his jaw. He reminded Callie of Sara when he was angry. They were good for each other, but he had to make this up to her.

"Fine." He mumbled, sitting back in his seat properly. All he wanted to do was see Sara, apologise again. Maybe he would take her out for dinner once they had finished up here. He knew her favourite vegetarian restaurant was here. He relaxed a little, knowing there was something he could do to make it up to her. The sooner he got to work, the faster he could get back to Sara.

Catherine glanced back at Cam in the rearview mirror, watching him closely. She was unsure of him at the moment. The possessive streak she had seen, was something she had seen only too often in men. The possessiveness was something Sara would not stand for. Not the Sara that she knew. But, how well did she know her? She didn't know she was in a relationship. She only hoped Sara wouldn't stand for it.

She turned her attention back to the road, listening to Callie's quick talking about the case. Catherine decided she liked her the moment she spoke to her first. She reminded her of herself.

She had to talk to Gil about Sara, soon. She knew of her old friends feelings for the brunette criminalist, and she knew he was torn up when she left. This was goiing to be getting to him, knowing that Sara was now in a relationship, when he loved her. Catherine knew that she loved him, too. Well, she thought she had.

She understood why Sara had left. She had chased Grissom, made it pretty clear what she wanted, and knowing what he wanted, but he kept rejecting her. But only for a short while. He would pull her back to him and the whole cycle started again.

She had refused to get involved last time, not wanting to meddle in what might or might not happen. Now, she was going to dive right into the middle of it. She wasn't Catherine WIllows for nothing.

_**xxx**_

"A suspect, great." Sara beamed, unable to stop the excitement. She was too deep in this case. She was not leaving until she got this closed. Until she had this bastard rotting behind bars where he belonged.

"Yeah, that slick guy over there. Brendan O'Donnel He just confessed to raping, smothering and dumping the vic. We're bringing him back to PD now for more questioning."

"Wait." Grissom said immediately, looking to Sara with a raised eyebrow who had picked up on the flaw straight away. "You said smothered, is that exactly what he said?"

"Quoted prefectly." Brass confirmed.

"All other victims have been strangled, and for the murderer, why would he stay around, waiting on us?" Sara mused, watching him as he was placed inside the police car.

"Guilty conscience, maybe?" Grissom offered.

"I'll keep it in mind, when I question him again. Let me know what Doc. Robbins says it the COD, and I'll see where to go from there. I'll keep you updated on the progress." He said, as he turned and left.

Sara turned her back, surveying the crime scene. "That guy didn't do it. I don't know. I can just feel it, deep down."

"I'm inclined to agree, but we have to see what the evidence says."

He hadn't changed at all, had he?

"The evidence won't say much, it never does." She said, a little resentful. She had been on this case since it began, night and day she lived and breathed this, and yet the killer was still out there, walking free, killing innocent girls.

"This isn't your fault, Sara. You can't make the evidence speak to you. You can only hope that he gets careless, leaves more evidence for us to work with. You're doing all that you can." He knew how Sara took cases to heart. Especially cases where sexual abuse was involved, and young women.

Sara swallowed the lump she could feel rising in her throat. She knew he was right, but it didn't make it any easier to come to terms with. "I feel like I should be doing more. I can't just sit around, waiting for him to kill more people.. More innocent girls.. All because I can't do my job." She said through gritted teeth.

At this, Grissom reached for her, gently turning her to face him. "You, are great at your job, Sara. You know that. My loss, was the FBI's gain, and from whatI hear, you are doing a fantastic job. You'll get him, I know you will."

Sara couldn't speak, she didn't know what to say to him. All she did was nod.

"Okay, come on. Tell me, what have the FBI worked out about this?" He aske,d hoping to keep her occupied.

"Well.." She cleared her throat. "At first, it seemed he chose the victims at random, but looking into it further, every one of them had been in the foster system at some stage. Trying to get courts to release foster children files to us is like pulling teeth, but Rian.. My uh, boss, is working on that still, to see if there is anything else in common with them, if they had been in the same foster home, or from the same area.. It can't be a coincidence that they were all in the system. It could be a foster carer, maybe another foster child. In the case of Jane Williams, nobody even knew she was a foster child. She said she was an only child, and that her parents lived in England, so it has to be someone related to the system that knows them. We're working on it." She said, feeling a little better now, knowing they still had a few leads to work on.

That was interesting. A new twist. "What's the bet that our new vic was also in the system?"

"I'm certain she is."

"Well, there's nothing more we can do here, I'm afriad. We've collected everything we have, it's just a matter of getting it to the lab and start processing. I'm also sure there are plenty of people who would like to see you." He knew he was one of those people. He was glad for his time alone with her, but he wasn't doing what he wanted to be doing.

He sighed, shaking the thoughts from his head.

"You're right, lets go." Sara said, taking one last look around the crime scene, as if hoping there was something they had missed. Unfortunately not. She sighed, and began to walk back towards her ride, realising Catherine had taken Grissoms, and Callie and Cam were with her. "Need a lift?" She asked, a smile on her lips, with pursed lips.

"Yeah, I think so." He said as he followed after her to the jeep.

Part of him wanted to close this case as soon as possible, just so that Sara would relax, and stop blaming herself. The other part of him, wanting it to stay open forever, so that she would never leave Vegas again.

He didn't know if he could let her walk away from him again.

_**xxx**_

**A/N:** That's it for another chapter guys.

Things are about to hot up soon, so stay tuned ;)

-xx


End file.
